ANOTHER FAITHFUL WELSH CATHOLIC

On 5th July 1589, four Catholic men were executed at Oxford.  They were Fr George Nichols, Fr Richard Yaxley, and laymen Thomas Belson and Humphrey Pritchard.

Bridge of Sighs, Oxford (J D Smith)

Humphrey Pritchard, sometimes known as Humphrey ap Richard, was born in Wales.  By 1589 Humphrey had been employed for about 12 years by a widow who owned the pub, The Catherine Wheel, in Oxford.  The Catherine Wheel was opposite the east end of St Mary Magdalen’s Church. Humphrey, as well as diligently preforming his duties as barman and servant, covertly aided and assisted Catholic priests who, by the simple fact of being Catholic priests, were hunted down by the authorities.  To be a Catholic priest and to say Mass was deemed by law to be High Treason and punishable by the gruesome penalty of being hung, drawn and quartered. To assist a priest was also punishable by death.

Plaque marking site of Martyrdom
(J D Smith)

Humphrey Pritchard was arrested at The Catherine Wheel and, accused of being a traitor because of his Catholic Faith, he was sent to Bridewell Prison, London. After being examined and tortured in London, Humphrey and his three companions were returned to Oxford where they were tried and sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered.  On 5th July 1589 the barbaric sentence was carried out at what is now the junction of Holywell Street and Longwall Street.  Humphrey Pritchard was the last of the four to be executed and as he mounted the scaffold he called out: “I call you all to witness, in the presence of God and His holy angels, that I am a Catholic and that I am condemned to die for the confession of the Catholic Faith. I die willingly.”

Plaque in University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford.  Humphrey Pritchard's  is the third name from the top of column three.  (J D Smith)

What became of the widow who owned The Catherine Wheel?  She, poor lady, was condemned to Perpetual Imprisonment! 

THIS STEADFAST AND FAITHFUL WELSHMAN, HUMPHREY PRITCHARD, WAS BEATIFIED ON 22nd NOVEMBER 1987 BY POPE JOHN PAUL II.

THE SYMBOLS

Several people have asked me what is the significance of the photograph in this Blog Heading. That made me think that there might be others who do not understand it either. Therefore, I thought I had better do a little explaining!

The picture, a close up of a carved detail on the shrine of St David Lewis, shows a rope, a dagger, and the letter 'M' topped with a crown. This symbolises the crown of martyrdom. The noose (rope) and the dagger are symbolic of the method of execution of St David Lewis. The noose signifies that the saint was hanged. The dagger symbolises the drawing or disemboweling that was carried out on the priest. In the time of St David Lewis, it was considered High Treason to be a Catholic Priest and to celebrate Holy Mass. The sentence for Treason was to be hanged, drawn (disemboweled) and quartered. The hanging was really a farce because the victim was cut down while still conscious. While still alive, he would be cut open, his heart and entrails ripped out and thrown on the fire before his very eyes. The body was then beheaded and quartered. Usually, the quarters were sent to be displayed in prominent positions around the town.

Those present at the martyrdom of St David Lewis were so deeply moved that a Protestant man held the priest's hand and would not permit the hangman to cut him down until he was dead. Nor would the crowd allow his body to be quartered. Fr Lewis was decapitated and dismembered but his body was given a reverent burial in the Churchyard of the Priory Church, Usk.

The shrine where the photo was taken is in the Catholic Church of St David Lewis and St Francis Xavier, Usk. The Church, on Porth-y-Carne Street, is opposite the site of the martyrdom of St David Lewis.